By Billboard

Plus, returns for Chuck Berry & Frank Sinatra.

Elvis Presley appears in the Billboard Hot 100's top 40 for the first time since 1981, as his classic carol "Blue Christmas" debuts at last, at No. 40 on the chart dated Jan. 5. Powered by streaming, it zooms 48-32 on the Streaming Songs chart, up 61 percent to 21.3 million U.S. streams in the Dec. 21-27 tracking week, according to Nielsen Music. It also drew 9.6 million in airplay audience (in the week ending Dec. 30).

Presley had last ranked in the Hot 100's top 40 on the chart dated March 28, 1981, when "Guitar Man" peaked at No. 28. The King of Rock and Roll died Aug. 16, 1977.

"Christmas," recorded and first released by Presley in 1957, arrives as his 81st top 40 Hot 100 hit, tying Lil Wayne for the second-best total in the chart's history (with Presley's career predating the survey's 1958 inception). Drake leads with 94 top 40 hits.

Presley adds his 109th Hot 100 entry overall and first since "Rubberneckin'," which reached No. 94 in 2003. The Glee Cast holds the record with 207 Hot 100 visits, followed by Drake (192) and Lil Wayne (161). Rounding out the top five, below Presley, Nicki Minaj has tallied 102 charted titles.

No. 32, "(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays,"Perry Como (up from No. 41; new peak; thanks to this song and his classic at No. 35, Como ranks in the Hot 100's top 40 for the first time since July 1973)
No. 34, "White Christmas," Bing Crosby (up from No. 48)
No. 35, "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas," Perry Como & The Fontane Sisters (up from No. 42; new peak)
No. 40, "Blue Christmas," Elvis Presley (debut)

Berry's "Run Rudolph Run" re-enters at No. 45, marking the first Hot 100 appearance for the late legend (who died in March 2017), since 1972, when novelty song "My Ding-a-Ling" became his sole No. 1. "Run" debuted and hit a previous No. 69 peak in December 1958.

At No. 49, Sinatra (who passed away in 1998) graces the Hot 100 for the first time since 1980, when "Theme From New York, New York" reached No. 32.

Meanwhile, Sinatra sends a version of "Jingle Bells" onto the Hot 100 for the first time. The standard was written by James Lord Pierpont and it was first published, as "One Horse Open Sleigh," in 1857 (101 years before the Hot 100's birth).

As Berry, Presley, Nat King Cole, Perry Como and Dean Martin all ranked on the inaugural Hot 100, dated Aug. 4, 1958, the icons share the record for the longest span of appearances, stretching across the chart's entire existence (60 years and five months).

(As for holiday songs and their eligibility, or lack thereof, for the Hot 100 over the years, Joel Whitburn notes in his book Christmas in the Charts: "From 1963 through 1972, and from 1983 through 1985 [with minimal exceptions], Billboard published a seasonal Christmas Singles chart and did not chart Christmas singles on the Hot 100." Per current Hot 100 rules, in place in recent years, older songs, including seasonal titles, can rank in the top 50 if experiencing significant multi-metric gains, and multiple holiday standards re-enter or debut each season.)

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